A leap of faith and a dash of wisdom
This took a little time, but would get faster with experience. Here is what it looks like. The different bone colours are due to my various experiments with using colours to denote foreground bones, background bones and so on. So far so good. Monster appears to run, if a little clumsily, and it took surprisingly little time. Not bad for a newbie. Emboldened by my rapid progress with the skeleton of the reptile monster, I added an image to each bone of the animation, and learnt some more lessons.
In my rush to sketch and create all the monster bits, I did not take particular care in drawing all the body parts to the same scale or shading. Furthermore, I then shrank all the images by eye, to approximately the right dimensions. SO when attaching the images to the bones, I noticed that the images had slightly different levels of shading, and the reptile scales were all over the place.
My monster looked less like a scaly reptile, and more like a grey patchwork quilt with red eyes. Here is the final result. The big advantage is that I can skin my monster with other images, so one skeleton can become many monsters. All that differs is the bone structure and gait of the creature. Along the way, some of my mistakes were rather funny so I thought I would post them here for a laugh. Now that I know everything, make a smaller, better reptile monster.
I will try a slightly different tack. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.
Ingredients for Phase 1 — Pencil, Paper and one fresh boring meeting A few days ago, I found myself in a long and boring meeting at work. Sketch of Leg About ten sketches later, the meeting concluded, with nothing decided.
There were several obvious issues with it: The final result, after enlargement Ingredients for Phase 3 — Lots of Reptile Parts with a dash of Wisdom Emboldened by my efforts on the left leg, I sketched, scanned, smudged and shrank my way through all the other monster body parts. Ingredients for Phase 4 — A Spine and lots of Bones Once I had all my images completed, I created a new Spine project and started creating a skeleton literally with a backbone, arms, legs and a head.
Finished The big advantage is that I can skin my monster with other images, so one skeleton can become many monsters. A Walk through Time — the Evolution of a Monster Along the way, some of my mistakes were rather funny so I thought I would post them here for a laugh. First, the weird armless alien thingy: Then along came Elvis….. Then a little too much caffeine…. Elvis grew a tail and also had an espresso…. Soon afterward the cat took another longing, went to the mouse, and said, "I've been asked to serve as godfather once again.
The child has a white ring around its body. I can't say no. You'll have to do me a favor and take care of the house by yourself today.
The mouse agreed, and the cat went and ate up half the fat. When she returned home, the mouse asked, "What name did this godchild receive? What are you telling me? I've never heard that name. It certainly isn't in the almanac.
Now the cat could not take his mind off the pot of fat. That only happens once in a few years. You will let me go, won't you? The mouse took care of the house and cleaned up everything, while the cat finished off the pot of fat. Round and full, she did not return until nighttime.
That is a worrisome name! Just what does this mean? I've never seen that name in print," and she shook her head and went to bed. No one invited the cat to serve as godfather a fourth time. Winter soon came, and when they could no longer find anything to eat outside, the mouse said to the cat, "Let's get the provisions that we've hid in the church under the altar. First came Top-Off, then it was Half-Gone, and then Link to the German text Katz und Maus in Gesellschaft.
Return to the table of contents. Mouse and Mouser England The mouse went to visit the cat, and found her sitting behind the hall door, spinning. I'm spinning old breeches, good body, good body, I'm spinning old breeches, good body. I'll wear 'em and tear 'em, good body, good body, I'll wear 'em and tear 'em, good body.
The more meat you had, good body, good body, The more meat you had, good body. The faster you'd eat it, good body, good body, The faster you'd eat it, good body. The cat came and ate it, my lady, my lady, The cat came and ate it, my lady. From memory by Lady Burne-Jones. Belling the Cat Aesop Long ago, the mice held a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he though would meet the case.
Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighborhood.
This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said, "That is all very well, but who is to bell the cat? The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said: This fable is sometimes entitled "Mice in Council.
The Cat and the Mice Aesop There was once a house that was overrun with mice. A cat heard of this, and said to herself, "That's the place for me," and off she went and took up her quarters in the house, and caught the mice one by one and ate them.
At last the mice could stand it n longer, and they determined to take to their holes and stay there. By and by a mouse peeped out and saw the cat hanging there. But you may turn yourself into a bag of meal hanging there, if you like, yet you won't catch us coming anywhere near you. Heinemann, , pp. The Hypocritical Cat Tibet In long-past times there was a chieftain of a company of mice who had a retinue of five hundred mice.
And there was also a cat named Agnija. In his youth he had been wont to kill all the mice in the neighborhood of his dwelling place. But afterward, when he had grown old, and no longer had the power of catching mice, he thought, "In former times, when I was young, I was able to catch mice by force. But now that I can do so no more, I must use some trick in order to make a meal off them.
By means of such watching he found out that there were five hundred mice in the troop. At a spot not far distant from the mouse hole, he took to performing fictitious acts of penance, and the mice, as they ran to and fro, saw him standing there with pious mien. So they cried out to him from a distance, "Uncle, what are you doing?
The cat replied, "As in my youth I have perpetrated many vicious actions, I am now doing penance in order to make up for them. The mice fancied that he had given up his sinful life, and there grew up within them confidence nourished by faith. Now as they returned into their hole every day after making their rounds, the cat always seized on and devoured the mouse which came last.
Seeing that the troop was constantly dwindling, the chief thought, "There must be some cause for the fact that my mice are diminishing in number, and this cat is thriving apace. So he began t observe the cat closely.
And when he saw that the cat was fat and well covered with hair, he thought, "There is no doubt that this cat has killed the mice. Therefore must I bring the matter to the light of day. Now as he kept careful watch from a hiding place, he saw how the cat ate up the mouse which went last.
Then from afar off he pronounced this verse: As the uncle's body waxes bigger, but my troop on the contrary becomes smaller, and as he who eats roots and berries will not become fat and well covered with hair, this is not a genuine penance, but one performed only for the sake of gain.
Because the number of the mice diminished, have you, O Agnija, thrived. Anton von Schiefner, and from the German into English by W. The Kanjur "translated word" is a large collection of Buddhist teachings and tales, probably brought to Tibet by Indian refugees in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Depending on the edition, the Kanjur consists of , , or folio volumes. The Kanjur plus the Tanjur "translated treatises" , comprise the two parts of the official canon of Tibetan Buddhism. The Cat and the Mice Tibet Once upon a time there was a cat who lived in a large farmhouse in which there was a great number of mice.
For many years the cat found no difficulty in catching as many mice as she wanted to eat, and she lived a very peaceful and pleasant life. But as time passed on she found that she was growing old and infirm, and that it was becoming more and more difficult for her to catch the same number of mice as before; so after thinking very carefully what was the best thing to do, she one day called all the mice together, and after promising not to touch them, she addressed them as follows:.
The fact is that I have led a very wicked life, and now, in my old age, I repent of having caused you all so much inconvenience and annoyance. So I am going for the future to turn over a new leaf. It is my intention now to give myself up entirely to religious contemplation and no longer to molest you, so henceforth you are at liberty to run about as freely as you will without fear of me.
All I ask of you is that twice every day you should all file past me in procession and each one make an obeisance as you pass me by, as a token of your gratitude to me for my kindness. When the mice heard this they were greatly pleased, for they thought that now, at last, they would be free from all danger from their former enemy, the cat. So they very thankfully promised to fulfill the cat's conditions, and agreed that they would file past her and make a salaam twice every day.
So when evening came the cat took her seat on a cushion at one end of the room, and the mice all went by in single file, each one making a profound salaam as it passed. Now the cunning old cat had arranged this little plan very carefully with an object of her own; for, as soon as the procession had all passed by with the exception of one little mouse, she suddenly seized the last mouse in her claws without anybody else noticing what had happened, and devoured it at her leisure.
And so twice every day, she seized the last mouse of the series, and for a long time lived very comfortably without any trouble at all in catching her mice, and without any of the mice realizing what was happening. Now these two were much cleverer and more cunning than most of the others, and after a few days they noticed that the number of mice in the house seemed to be decreasing very much, in spite of the fact that the cat had promised not to kill any more.
So they laid their heads together and arranged a little plan for future processions. The cat was naturally very much annoyed at having to go hungry that evening, and felt very cross all night. But she thought it was only an accident which had brought the two friends, one in front and one in rear of the procession, and she hoped to make up for her enforced abstinence by finding a particularly fat mouse at the end of the procession next morning.
However, she disguised her feelings of anger and decided to give the mice one more trial; so in the evening she took her seat as usual on the cushion and waited for the mice to appear. This was more than the cat could stand. She made a fierce leap right into the middle of the mice, who, however, were thoroughly prepared for her, and in an instant they scuttled off in every direction to their holes.
And before the cat had time to catch a single one, the room was empty and not a sign of a mouse was to be seen anywhere. After this the mice were very careful not to put any further trust in the treacherous cat, who soon after died of starvation owing to her being unable to procure any of her customary food.
The Cat as Holy Man Palestine A town cat, having destroyed almost all the mice and rats in the place, found itself forced, for lack of prey, to go into the fields and hunt for birds, mice, rats, and lizards.
In this time of need it thought of the following ruse. It stayed away for some weeks from its usual haunts, and, returning, lay down in front of a mouse and rat warren, with a rosary round its neck; then, with its eyes closed, fell to purring loudly. Soon a mouse peeped out of a hole, but, seeing the cat, hastily returned. Come and visit me, fear nothing. Surprised at hearing itself thus addressed, the mouse again ventured to the door of its hole and said, "How can you expect me to visit you?
Are you not the enemy of my race? Should I accept your invitation you would surely seize and devour me as you did my parents and so many others of my kindred. I have been a great sinner, and have earned abuse and enmity. But I am truly penitent. As you see from this rosary round my neck, I now devote myself to prayer, meditation, and the recital of holy books, the whole of which I have learnt by heart, and was just beginning to repeat when you happened to look out of your hole.
Go, my injured but nevertheless generous and forgiving friend, make my change of life and sentiments known to the rest of your people and bid them no longer shun my society, seeing that I am become a recluse. Whilst you are absent I shall resume my recitations. Much surprised at the news he had just heard, the mouse made it known to the rest of the tribe.